1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a container for liquid or fluid material. The container is flexible and may be collapsible when empty.
2. Description of the Related Art
Flexible containers for storing, transporting, delivering or collecting fluids are well known, e.g. from the food industry, fuel containers or the medical field. The containers may be collapsible when empty, thus saving place or decreasing the volume of waste. In the medical field the containers may be useful for many purposes such as collecting urine or delivering flushing liquid for irrigation.
It may be preferred that the container is self-supporting and stable, so the risk of tilting is low. Furthermore it should be easy to handle and to fill and empty the container. In order to achieve the self-supporting properties, the bag may have a tree-dimensional structure. However, producing such three-dimensional structures may often be complicated and expensive.
Containers may be exposed to pressure and should be sturdy enough to handle this without the risk of bursts or leakage. Containers for various purposes are known:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,757 discloses a self-supporting container comprising side-walls of thin, non-self-supporting material, reinforced with a plurality of laterally spaced, rigid ribs. The bag is not collapsible.
In FR Patent Application No. 2 585 678 is disclosed a flexible container for liquids. The container has foldable sidewalls with stiffening pleats to allow compact storage and an inlet. The container has a rectangular flat bottom, and is collapsible when empty. The container has to be made of a rather stiff material in order to keep shape and stability when filled with liquid.
There are many different usages for flexible, self-supporting containers in the medical field, e.g. for the home and hospital nursing in connection with the collection of body fluids and for the insertion of fluids into the body. Examples of collection may be exudates, urine or faecal matters. Examples of insertion may be intravenous, flushing of bladder, rectal enema or medication.
For insertion into the body a certain pressure is necessary. This pressure is usually achieved by hanging the container above the patient. To ensure a safe hanging, different types of racks and tripods—often on wheels—are seen everywhere in hospitals. However it is often difficult for the patient, who may be confined to a wheelchair or bed, to hang the container above him.
From GB Patent Application No. 2 336 830 is disclosed a drainage bag of pyramid configuration. The shape of the bag allows it to be stabilized by the weight of its contents. The bag is provided with an inlet and an outlet, located in the seam adjacent the corners of the bag. The pyramid configuration offers good stability but the location of the in- and outlets in the seam may give rise to leakage problems, as well as the bag is complicated to produce, due to the three-dimensional structure. Furthermore, the bag will be inflated to a more round configuration when it is exposed to pressure, and is thus less able to stand safely by itself.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a flexible, self-supporting container for fluids, being sturdy and stable.
Another object of the invention is to provide a flexible container, which can easily and safely be pressurised.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible container, which can be folded to take up as little space as possible.
It has now been found that the container of the present invention fulfils the above-mentioned demands.